Ropes are an essential part of a wide variety of professional and recreational activities where rope work is required. The need often exists for a user to use a rope to control the movement of a load relative to an anchor point.
The construction and use of general purpose rope rigging devices such as tackle blocks, belay devices, ascenders, carabiners, and pulleys are well-known. In addition, numerous rigging devices have been developed specifically to facilitate the use of ropes to frictionally control movement of a load relative to an anchor point.
Various improvements have been made with the addition of various tabs, horns or protrusions to manipulate rope flow and vary the amount of friction. Though such devices have achieved considerable popularity and commercial success, there has been a continuing need for improvement. New rope materials and construction techniques have produced ropes with less friction resulting in an increased need for improvement. The need exists for lightweight rope control devices that may be used in a variety of configurations to frictionally control rope movement rope to allow a load to be moved relative to an anchor point and allow safe adjustment over a range of friction while the device is weighted.
The Applicant is aware of the following rope control devices that are currently available in the marketplace.
A class of devices generally known as a “FIG. 8” is a flat plate defining first and second holes. A class of devices known as “Brake Racks” is also known in the art. These devices generally comprise an external frame formed by a U-shaped piece of metal that defines first and second legs and one or more cross-bars that can be pivoted about the first leg of the frame into a locked or unlocked position relative to the second leg of the frame.
These devices allow rope movement to be controlled using friction between the device and the rope.